Greater New Orleans

Strawberry Festival a sweet success

Ideal weather, historic crowds, a new family-friendlier approach, combined to produce one of the nicest, perhaps the largest, Strawberry Festivals in 38 years.

(Left to Right) Alanna Langla, Chandra Turi, and Stacy McDonald from the Ponchatoula Junior Chamber are all smiles as they work at the Strawberry Festival (Times photo by Alex Knapp)

Praise rightfully went to this year's Chairman Jody Borne and to his Strawberry Festival Board, but there was glory enough to go around, to police, city workers, and Mayor Bob Zabbia certainly, to all the non-profit community groups who provide the wide range of food and refreshments.

Innovation this year came in the form of expanded pedestrian walkways on both sides of main street, to the replacing of tawdry carnival games with a kid-friendly series of attractions on Hickory Street, and to the expansion of the historic "Family Night" with expanded hours and entertainment on Friday.

A major police presence of Ponchatoula police, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office deputies and those from other police departments perhaps discouraged any trouble before it had a chance to get started.

"Normally we can judge the success of a festival by the calls of complaint we receive, and we had very few," said a pleased Mayor Zabbia, who singled out Public Works Superintendent David Opdenhoff and his crew for high praise.

"Saturday we saw one of the biggest crowds ever," he added. "Our city crews worked very hard downtown and the parish prison trustees were great partners. If it wasn't the biggest festival, it sure was close," said the mayor.

Police Chief Bry Layrisson agreed, saying, "It was extremely crowded Saturday. Sunday had a better pace. And lines were long for Friday's Family Night." He said that there were "very minor incidents, under a dozen" requiring police action, remarkable when viewed on the basis of a huge population visiting a city known for its laid-back country charms.

Chief Layrisson confirmed to The Times that his officers closed the Interstate 55 Ponchatoula exits at 5 p.m., "to start relieving traffic for the 6 p.m. closing. By 7 p.m. people were heading home Sunday."

The chief is expected to take part in what Mayor Zabbia told The Times would be a wrap-up meeting to improve the festival for future years, which he said following the success of the 2009 festival would amount to "minor tweaking."